Mechanism of E. coli RNA polymerase-promoter interactions

The regulation of gene expression in procaryotes is accomplished primarily at the level of transcription. Initiation of transcription is subject to numerous promoter-specific controls which act to ensure coordinate expression of disparate genes. The kinetics of formation of a functional("open") complex at a promoter, prior to the catalytic steps of RNA chain initiation and elongation, is thought to play a major role in controlling the efficiency of transcription of that promotor, since the subsequent processes of nucleotide binding and phosphodiester bond formation are rapid and are not promoter-specific (Mangel and Chamberlin, 1974 Shimamoto et al., 1981)